Departmental Boards: Boosting Reform

Discussion paper

Foreword by Lord Bichard KCB

I am pleased to have overseen this Commission discussion paper on the boards of government departments.

In the corporate world, boards have a vital role in accountability:

• They are accountable to shareholders for setting and ensuring the execution of an effective business strategy.

• They hold the CEO and top executives in the business to account.

The boards of government departments could never work exactly like corporate boards. Our constitutional arrangements land legal responsibility and accountability to Parliament firmly with Ministers.  They can only therefore, formally, be advisory.  But advisory need not mean toothless.  Boards could play a strong role in enhancing effectiveness and accountability in departments and playing a part in departments’ more effective external accountability.

In this short paper, we take a look at how departmental boards have developed, their current role, benefits and limitations.  We suggest how they could take a stronger role in making sure policy gets turned into sensible execution, in keeping performance on track, and making sure the right people are in key roles.  We would welcome feedback.